TV: KSL continues dominance despite Leno flop

KSL Channel 5's late-night news is like the Coca-Cola of local newscasts (an odd analogy if you know who owns KSL, but I digress).

The 10 p.m. newscast with Bruce Lindsay and Nadine Wimmer is a popular brand, just like that delicious caramel-colored beverage. It's a local tradition, a reliable television entity that's so ingrained in Utah's viewing habits that it would take a nuclear disaster to unhinge its dominance in the ratings.

Not even Jay Leno can ruin it.

The November sweeps are over. Once again, KSL led the ratings race, even after a disastrous debut from "The Jay Leno Show" as the lead-in to the late-night news.

For the 10 p.m., Monday-through-Friday ratings for November, KSL got a 10.1 rating;

Lead-ins are vitally important to local news stations. Affiliates depend on those 9 p.m. shows to attract viewers who will stick around to watch the news. So far, "Leno" has been a huge failure -- although not a surprising one, as low ratings were predicted by national critics.

But KSL has weathered the "Leno" show flop better than any NBC affiliate in the country. In fact, KSL had the highest-rated late-night news of any NBC station in the country last month, according to Con Psarras, KSL's news director.

Article #2

KSL still leads in late-night TV news viewers

Ratings » Overall audience is down for those spots, continuing a trend.

Despite one of the worst lead-in programs in years that has crippled other local NBC television newscasts around the country, KSL Channel 5 remains the ratings leader in late-night TV news.

All stations experienced drops in viewership from the same time last year, a downward trend that has continued for at least a couple of years as Utahns turn to the Internet for news. But KSL has experienced a small decline, even though its new lead-in program at 9 p.m., "The Jay Leno Show," has had some of the lowest ratings for that time slot.

"Leno" averaged a 4.4 rating in November, while the one-hour dramas NBC used to broadcast in the 9 p.m. hour, including "Medium" and "Law & Order," averaged a 6.2 rating, according to NielsenMedia Research.

According to November "sweeps" figures, KSL still led the Monday-through-Friday, 10 p.m. newscasts. Ratings during a "sweeps" month are especially important for television stations because that is when advertiser's rates are calculated.

KSL led with a rating of 10.1, followed by KUTV Channel 2 with a 9.1. KSTU Channel 13's news at 9 p.m. was third with 5.5, and KTVX Channel 4 was fourth with a 4.4. KJZZ Channel 14's news at 9 p.m., which is delivered by KUTV, posted a 1.1 rating.

A ratings refers to the percentage of Utah's 944,060 television households that are watching a particular program.

"NBC deserves credit for trying something different," KSL News Director Con Psarras said about the network's decision to move Jay Leno to prime time. "The lesson to KSL and other stations is we're on our own, and we sink or swim on the caliber of our own product. I'm gratified that we have the kind of product that attracts viewers on its own.